Soran Alhabi
Biography Soran Alhabi was born to King Farnar Alhabi and Queen Braha Uxuli, their second son, but the only that was expected to live to adulthood. His older brother Jhros was sickly from an early age and thus was not expected to survive. None-the-less he was taught as if he were the heir, as was Soran. At age four King Farnar put a sword into the hand of Soran, soon followed by a spear, a dagger, a bow, and a whip. Soran preferred the spear to the others but still did not show much outstanding skill with them. A terrible illness took Jhros, leaving him coughing blood, vomiting, and eventually, closing his eyes forever. Soran has remarked on numerous occasions that it was the only time he has cried, though he did so in the privacy of his room. This left him as the only living child of the Alhabi family, and thus tensions rose within Saath as the noble families looked to potentially challenge Soran's eventual rise to Kingship. In order to prepare his son for such an occasion, King Farnar increased the amount of time Soran trained with weapons. His skills did not improve, but he did not shy away from more practice time. He also organized war games, pitting the Iliba, Arvis, Elros, and Awari as the black team against the gold team of Soran's men and the Ahasoi in a defense scenario using an abandoned fort on the outskirts of Saath. Soran was tasked with defending against a force outnumbering him ten-to-one. He was given a twelve-hour window in which he had to gather all the forces and supplies he could after which the black team would be allowed to being their siege. With logistical prowess that none had expected, he fortified the fort and had it supplied very well for the duration of the games. Over the next three weeks, he withstood wave after wave of attacks, catapult bombardment, and the general lack of Ahasoi compliance. Though the war games were scheduled to end after sixty days, most thought it would have been over in the second week. As the fifth week approached he had spent enough time with the Ahasoi men that he managed to turn them all against their family's representative. At the start of the sixth and final week, Soran ordered all men to gather any horse, any chariot, still left intact and ordered them to ride out with him at their head. Those who were there still remark on the authority in his voice, and even though he was meant to be a co-commander of the gold team, he had assumed complete control. In the middle of the night the gates of the fort swung open and through tactical planning, Soran caught the black team completely off-guard, easily riding straight into the middle of their camp, personally capturing one of the black team's flag, his men capturing the other three. He turned his forces around and rode straight into Saath, asking his father to be woken in the middle of the night and placing the four flags at his feet. The families were very upset by the conclusion of the war game, the Ahasoi for being overpowered and disregarded, the rest being made fools. At the turn of the year, King Farnar passed in the night and so the seven days of mourning and then seven days of feasting began. As a result of the underlying unrest in the city, all five of the families staked a claim against Soran. He began his stay at the Daarh Clealsh of Saath, where he would have to fight five of the champions of the noble families. The Awari claimant was first, and he walked out with a sword to duel Soran who wielded a spear. Soran being of average skill, kept the Awari at the length of his spear and waited for him to charge. After a half hour of pacing, and poking, the Awari lost his patience and charged Soran only to find himself with steel in his chest and blood gushing onto the ground. And so Soran had kept his claim against the Awari. The next claimant was the Elros who was well known for his skill with daggers and famed agility. He wanted the duel to be done quickly, and so he threw one of his daggers after a few checks and feints to hit Soran in his bicep, who yelped out of pain and dropped the point of his spear. But Soran had outwitted the man, quickly raising his spear as the Elros charged him lifting him on the spear and letting him slide down the shaft to his death. The next claimant was the Iliba who came prepared, well armored and with a spear, but he was an older man, in his late thirties, slowly losing his speed. Soran used that to his advantage and was the attacker in this duel. He used the stamina advantage he would have over the older man, knowing that his lighter armor would be even more beneficial in that, and literally running circles around the man, who had to follow suit and soon tired himself out, leaving Soran to get the job done with a few checks and then leaping into the air sticking his spear into the neck of the Iliba. The Arvis claimant was next and the man that was pitted against Soran was no man at all, a boy Soran's age, who was clearly ill-prepared came in with a shakey spear, and armor that was more for show than for battle. This was by far the easiest duel for Soran, though he did take a spear to the thigh. It ended with Soran cutting off the Arvis' ear who then grabbed the spot where an ear had previously been, dropping his spear, only to find Soran's spear in his neck. The final opponent was the Ahasoi who had to fight a tired, from three days of duels, injured, from a dagger being buried in his bicep, and terrified, from having almost secured his throne, Soran. The Ahasoi was the same man who had been with Soran in the war game as the other leader of the gold team, a man in his late twenties, known for his skill. Soran was terrified, but he put on heavier armor and made his way into the arena. The duel was long, painful for both, but due to the duels he had fought in previous days he was able to overcome to the Ahasoi and slice one knee and then the other ankle, and while the Ahasoi was on the ground, put his spear through the Ahasoi's neck and down his spine ending the claims to his throne. Soran was crowned and made his way to the Mother of Mountains to High-King Fozhai's tomb, asking to do the last three days of the journey alone. He swore his allegiance before the Tomb and made his way back to Saath. He spent the next few years consolidating his rule, reigning in the noble families, marrying Ratha Iliba. Queen Braha Uxuli passed during this time. The families did eventually submit to Soran, and Saath was returned to peace. When the Ghiscari attacked the cities of Kasath and Sathar, Soran did not wait for the call of High-King Mezo to call his banners. Upon being notified of the call, Soran marched with all his troops to Kasath and then to Sathar. The Saathi were the last to leave the siege Meereen, letting the other Sarnori wreck all the havoc they wished. The issue of the rich fertile fishing waters with the king of Sarys, King Huzhor Neriyah, came about and while few military engagements occurred, the situation was tense. But the issue was quickly resolved when the Lorathi colony of Morosh also pressed their claim, which caused the Sarnori to band together and burn any fishing vessels that sail south into the estuary, instead of out into open water. The peace was determined to split the rights between the two cities, and a marriage to Soran was promised to further ensure peace. At the announcement of High-King Mezo Alexi of the Fest Ka Athdrivar, Soran traveled to Sarnath to take part in the occasion. Timeline * 266 AA: Soran is born. * 270 AA: Soran's training begins. * 278 AA: Soran leads the gold team in the war games organized by his father. * 281 AA: Soran journeys to the tomb of High-King Fozhai, traveling the last 3 days alone. * 282-286 AA: King Soran solidifies his rule. * 287 AA: King Soran is among the first to respond to the call of High-King Mezo Alexi. * 294 AA: King Soran presses his claim on the fishing waters on the edge of the Shivering Sea, but unites with King Huzhor to defeat the Lorathi colony of Morosh. * 298 AC: King Soran travels to Sarnath for the Fest Ka Athdrivar. Family * (d.281 AA) * (d. 283 AA) ** (d. 273 AA) ** King Soran Alhabi ** Queen Ratha Iliba (b. 270) *** Farnar Alhabi (b. 283 AA) ** Queen ______ Neriyah Court * Rhazas Myrgi - Archetype: Navigator * Hyrkar Thasi - Archetype: Cavalry General * Nymor Gartha - Archetype: Scout * Saras Bathsi- Archetype: Ship Captain * Querho Jona - Archetype: Warrior (Polearms) Category:Essosi Category:Sarnori Category:King Category:The Kingdom of Sarnor